Station keeping methods

ABSTRACT

A method for maintaining a marine vessel at a global position and/or heading includes receiving measurements related to vessel attitude and estimating water roughness conditions based on the measurements. A difference between the vessel&#39;s actual global position and the target global position and/or a difference between the vessel&#39;s actual heading and the target heading are determined. The method includes calculating a desired linear velocity based on the position difference and/or a desired rotational velocity based on the heading difference. The vessel&#39;s actual linear velocity and/or actual rotational velocity are filtered based on the roughness conditions. The method includes determining a difference between the desired linear velocity and the filtered actual linear velocity and/or a difference between the desired rotational velocity and the filtered actual rotational velocity. The method also includes calculating vessel movements that will minimize the linear velocity difference and/or rotational velocity difference and carrying out the calculated movements.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/887,372, filed Feb. 2, 2018, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/459,295, filed Feb. 15, 2017, andboth of which applications are hereby incorporated by reference hereinin their entireties.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to automatic positioning systems andmethods for marine vessels.

BACKGROUND

U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,771, which is hereby incorporated by referenceherein, discloses a control system for a marine vessel that incorporatesa marine propulsion system that can be attached to a marine vessel andconnected in signal communication with a serial communication bus and acontroller. A plurality of input devices and output devices are alsoconnected in signal communication with the communication bus and a busaccess manager, such as a CAN Kingdom network, is connected in signalcommunication with the controller to regulate the incorporation ofadditional devices to the plurality of devices in signal communicationwith the bus whereby the controller is connected in signal communicationwith each of the plurality of devices on the communication bus. Theinput and output devices can each transmit messages to the serialcommunication bus for receipt by other devices.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,305,928, which is hereby incorporated by referenceherein, discloses a vessel positioning system that maneuvers a marinevessel in such a way that the vessel maintains its global position andheading in accordance with a desired position and heading selected bythe operator of the marine vessel. When used in conjunction with ajoystick, the operator of the marine vessel can place the system in astation keeping enabled mode and the system then maintains the desiredposition obtained upon the initial change in the joystick from an activemode to an inactive mode. In this way, the operator can selectivelymaneuver the marine vessel manually and, when the joystick is released,the vessel will maintain the position in which it was at the instant theoperator stopped maneuvering it with the joystick.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,478,464, which is hereby incorporated by referenceherein, discloses systems and methods for orienting a marine vessel toenhance available thrust in a station keeping mode. A control devicehaving a memory and a programmable circuit is programmed to controloperation of a plurality of marine propulsion devices to maintainorientation of a marine vessel in a selected global position. Thecontrol device is programmed to calculate a direction of a resultantthrust vector associated with the plurality of marine propulsion devicesthat is necessary to maintain the vessel in the selected globalposition. The control device is programmed to control operation of theplurality of marine propulsion devices to change the actual heading ofthe marine vessel to align the actual heading with the thrust vector.

Unpublished U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/425,184, filed Feb. 6,2017, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a method formaintaining a marine vessel propelled by a marine propulsion device in aselected position, including determining a current global position ofthe marine vessel and receiving a signal command to maintain the currentglobal position. The current global position is stored as a targetglobal position in response to receiving the signal command. Asubsequent global position of the marine vessel is determined and aposition error difference between the subsequent global position and thetarget global position is determined. The method includes determiningmarine vessel movements required to minimize the position errordifference, and causing the marine propulsion device to produce a thrusthaving a magnitude, a direction, and an angle calculated to result inachievement of the required marine vessel movements. At least one oftiming and frequency of discontinuity of thrust production is controlledwhile the position error difference is minimized.

Other patents describing various station keeping features and relatedsystem and method improvements include: U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,267,068;8,050,630; 8,417,399; 8,694,248; 8,807,059; 8,924,054; 9,132,903;9,377,780; 9,733,645; and 9,927,520. Each of these patents andapplications is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that arefurther described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is notintended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subjectmatter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope ofthe claimed subject matter.

According to one example of the present disclosure, a method formaintaining a marine vessel at at least one of a target global positionand a target heading in a body of water is carried out by a controlmodule. The method includes receiving measurements related to anattitude of the marine vessel and estimating roughness conditions of thebody of water based on the attitude measurements. The method includesdetermining at least one of a difference between an actual globalposition of the marine vessel and the target global position and adifference between an actual heading of the marine vessel and the targetheading. The method then includes calculating at least one of a desiredlinear velocity based on the position difference and a desiredrotational velocity based on the heading difference. Based on theroughness conditions, the control module filters at least one of anactual linear velocity of the marine vessel and an actual rotationalvelocity of the marine vessel. The method includes determining at leastone of a difference between the desired linear velocity and the filteredactual linear velocity and a difference between the desired rotationalvelocity and the filtered actual rotational velocity. The method alsoincludes calculating marine vessel movements that will minimize the atleast one of the linear velocity difference and the rotational velocitydifference. Next, the method includes operating a propulsion system ofthe marine vessel to carry out the calculated marine vessel movements.

A system for maintaining a marine vessel at at least one of apreselected global position and a preselected heading comprises acontrol module in signal communication with a propulsion system of themarine vessel. A pitch sensor provides vessel pitch measurements to thecontrol module, and a roll sensor provides vessel roll measurements tothe control module. Additionally, a heading sensor provides a measuredheading of the marine vessel to the control module, and a positionsensor provides a measured global position of the marine vessel to thecontrol module. The control module determines at least one of adifference between the measured global position and the preselectedglobal position and a difference between the measured heading and thepreselected heading. The control module then calculates at least one ofa desired linear velocity based on the position difference and a desiredrotational velocity based on the heading difference. Based on the pitchmeasurements and the roll measurements, the control module filters atleast one of an actual linear velocity of the marine vessel and anactual rotational velocity of the marine vessel. The control moduledetermines at least one of a difference between the desired linearvelocity and the filtered actual linear velocity and a differencebetween the desired rotational velocity and the filtered actualrotational velocity. The control module then calculates marine vesselmovements that will minimize the at least one of the linear velocitydifference and the rotational velocity difference and causes the marinepropulsion system to operate to carry out the calculated marine vesselmovements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is described with reference to the followingFigures. The same numbers are used throughout the Figures to referencelike features and like components.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic of a marine vessel according to thepresent disclosure

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a schematic of a control algorithm for astation keeping method according to the present disclosure.

FIGS. 3 and 4 schematically illustrate more detail of portions of thealgorithm shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B.

FIG. 5 is a schematic for purposes of illustrating a method formaintaining a marine vessel at a target global position and a targetheading.

FIG. 6 illustrates the concepts of pitch, roll, and heading of themarine vessel.

FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate data taken from a vessel when a method of thepresent disclosure is not used.

FIGS. 8A-8C illustrate data taken from a vessel when a method of thepresent disclosure is implemented.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a method according to the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the present description, certain terms have been used for brevity,clarity and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be inferredtherefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms areused for descriptive purposes only and are intended to be broadlyconstrued.

The system and method of the present disclosure enhance a marinevessel's station-keeping, auto-heading, and/or waypoint trackingalgorithm such that recurring disturbances to the measured positionand/or heading of the marine vessel are filtered out under rough seaconditions. The marine vessel's propulsion system is therefore less busycorrecting perceived back-and-forth or side-to-side errors and isactivated to correct net position and/or heading errors when necessary.

FIG. 1 schematically depicts a marine vessel 10 including a system 100for maintaining the marine vessel 10 at at least one of a preselected(or target) global position and a preselected (or target) heading. Themarine vessel 10 includes two marine propulsion devices 12, 14, althoughfewer or more propulsion devices could be provided. The propulsiondevices 12, 14 can be any type of marine propulsion device, such as forexample, pod drives, sterndrives, outboards, jet drives, and/orthrusters. The system includes a control module 16 in signalcommunication with a propulsion system 11 of the marine vessel 10, whichincludes the propulsion devices 12, 14. The control module 16 sendssignals to control the magnitude of thrust produced by the propulsiondevices 12, 14 in order to propel the marine vessel 10, as will bedescribed further herein below. The position of the marine vessel 10 canbe controlled either by positioning the propulsion devices 12, 14themselves (such as with outboard motors or sterndrives) or bypositioning a rudder of the marine vessel 10 to change the direction ofthe marine vessel 10.

Each marine propulsion device 12, 14 is associated with a respectivepower transmission mechanism 13, 15. The power transmission mechanisms13, 15 may each comprise a single shaft, gear, or clutch, or maycomprise a series of shafts, gears, clutches, etc. that transmit powerfrom a prime mover, such as an engine or a motor located in thepropulsion device 12, 14 or aboard the vessel 10, to a rotatingthrust-producing device, such as a propeller, impeller, propulsor, orthe like. The power transmission mechanisms 13, 15 may be transmissionsthat are shiftable to forward, neutral, and reverse positions, or may bedesigned such that they are capable only of rotating or not rotating,for example if they are engaged or not engaged with the prime mover orif the prime mover itself is turned on or off.

The precise propulsion devices and apparatuses by which the marinevessel 10 can change its direction are not limiting on the scope of thepresent disclosure. For example, although the propulsion devices 12, 14will be described herein below as being powered by engines, thepropulsion devices 12, 14 could instead be propelled by electric motors.For purposes of simplicity, the control module 16 will be described ascontrolling the direction and magnitude of thrust of the propulsiondevices 12, 14, although it should be understood that the control module16 could alternatively control the position of a rudder, reversingbucket, trim tab, or the like in order to control the direction of themarine vessel 10.

The control module 16 may be communicatively connected to an inputsource 18, such as for example a touch screen, that allows an operatorof the marine vessel 10 to operate the vessel 10 in one or moreoperating modes, including but not limited to a station keeping mode, anauto-heading mode, or a waypoint tracking mode, which are generallyknown in the art. The input source 18 could alternatively be a smartphone or tablet, a PDA, a gauge, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, abutton, a joystick, or any number of other input devices and/orperipherally connectable devices suitable for providing information tothe control module 16.

The system 100 may also include a pitch sensor 20 that provides vesselpitch measurements to the control module 16, a roll sensor 22 thatprovides vessel roll measurements to the control module 16, a headingsensor 26 that provides a measured (actual) heading of the marine vessel10 to the control module 16, and a position sensor 24 that provides ameasured (actual) global position of the marine vessel 10 to the controlmodule 16. The control module 16 may also be communicatively connectedto a vessel speed sensor 28. The pitch sensor 20 and the roll sensor 22can be separate devices, or can be combined in a motion reference unit(MRU) that includes accelerometers and MEMS angular rate gyros. Theheading sensor 26 can be, for example, a solid state compass or a fluxgate compass, although a gyroscope could also be used. In one example,the heading sensor 26 is an inertial measurement unit (IMU), which mayhave a solid state, rate gyro electronic compass that detects thedirection of the earth's magnetic field using solid state magnetometersand indicates the vessel heading relative to magnetic north.Additionally, solid state accelerometers and angular rate sensors in theIMU may be provided to sense the vessel's attitude and rate of turn. Theposition sensor 24, heading sensor 26, and speed sensor 28 can becombined in a global positioning system (GPS) receiver that provides thelocation (latitude and longitude), speed (speed over ground), anddirection (course over ground) of the marine vessel 10. In one example,the pitch sensor 20, the roll sensor 22, the position sensor 24, theheading sensor, 26, and the speed sensor 28 are provided in a singleunit known as an attitude and heading reference system (AHRS) 19. AnAHRS 19 provides 3D orientation of the marine vessel 10 by integratinggyroscopic measurements, accelerometer data, and magnetometer data.

The control module 16 is programmable and includes a processing system16 a and a storage system 16 b. The control module 16 can be locatedanywhere on the vessel 10 and/or located remote from the vessel 10 andcan communicate with various components of the vessel 10 via aperipheral interface and wired and/or wireless links, as will beexplained further herein below. Although FIG. 1 shows one control module16, the vessel 10 can include more than one control module. Portions ofthe method disclosed herein below can be carried out by a single controlmodule or by several separate control modules. For example, the systemcan have a control module located at or near a helm of the vessel 10 andcan also have control module(s) located at or near the propulsiondevices 12, 14. If more than one control module is provided, each cancontrol operation of a specific device or sub-system on the vessel 10.

In some examples, the control module 16 may include a computing systemthat includes the processing system 16 a, storage system 16 b, software,and input/output (I/O) interfaces for communicating with peripheraldevices. The systems may be implemented in hardware and/or software thatcarries out a programmed set of instructions. For example, theprocessing system 16 a loads and executes software from the storagesystem 16 b, such as software programmed with a station keeping method,a waypoint tracking method, and/or an auto-heading method, which directsthe processing system 16 a to operate as described herein below infurther detail. The computing system may include one or more processors,which may be communicatively connected. The processing system 16 a cancomprise a microprocessor, including a control unit and a processingunit, and other circuitry, such as semiconductor hardware logic, thatretrieves and executes software from the storage system 16 b. Theprocessing system 16 a can be implemented within a single processingdevice but can also be distributed across multiple processing devices orsub-systems that cooperate according to existing program instructions.The processing system 16 a can include one or many software modulescomprising sets of computer executable instructions for carrying outvarious functions as described herein.

As used herein, the term “control module” may refer to, be part of, orinclude an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC); an electroniccircuit; a combinational logic circuit; a field programmable gate array(FPGA); a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes code;other suitable components that provide the described functionality; or acombination of some or all of the above, such as in a system-on-chip(SoC). A control module may include memory (shared, dedicated, or group)that stores code executed by the processing system. The term “code” mayinclude software, firmware, and/or microcode, and may refer to programs,routines, functions, classes, and/or objects. The term “shared” meansthat some or all code from multiple modules may be executed using asingle (shared) processor. In addition, some or all code from multiplecontrol modules may be stored by a single (shared) memory. The term“group” means that some or all code from a single control module may beexecuted using a group of processors. In addition, some or all code froma single control module may be stored using a group of memories.

The storage system 16 b can comprise any storage media readable by theprocessing system and capable of storing software. The storage systemcan include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage of information, suchas computer-readable instructions, data structures, software modules, orother data. The storage system 16 b can be implemented as a singlestorage device or across multiple storage devices or sub-systems. Thestorage system 16 b can include additional elements, such as a memorycontroller capable of communicating with the processing system.Non-limiting examples of storage media include random access memory,read-only memory, magnetic discs, optical discs, flash memory, virtualand non-virtual memory, various types of magnetic storage devices, orany other medium which can be used to store the desired information andthat may be accessed by an instruction execution system. The storagemedia can be a transitory storage media or a non-transitory storagemedia such as a non-transitory tangible computer readable medium.

The control module 16 communicates with one or more components on thevessel 10 via the I/O interfaces and a communication link, which can bea wired or wireless link. In one example, the communication link is acontroller area network (CAN) bus, as described in U.S. Pat. No.6,273,771, which was incorporated by reference herein above, but itshould be understood that other types of links could be used.

Referring to FIG. 5, in a station keeping mode, the marine vessel 10 canbe maintained in a single global position (defined by latitude andlongitude) and at a predetermined heading by way of an algorithm thatcontrols the vessel's propulsion devices 12, 14 to counteract theeffects of wind, waves, current, etc. that would tend to move the vessel10 off this location and/or to a new heading. In essence, the propulsiondevices 12, 14 are controlled to maintain the vessel 10 at a virtualanchor point. The control module 16, which controls direction andmagnitude of thrust and angular orientation of the propulsion devices12, 14, acts as a virtual joystick and calculates left/right, fore/aft,and yaw commands required to drive the vessel's position error andheading error to zero.

An example of the inputs to the control module's calculations while thevessel 10 is in a station keeping mode is shown in FIG. 5. In thisexample, the actual, measured global position (AP) of a preselectedpoint on the vessel 10, as determined by a GPS receiver in the AHRS 19,is not equal to a predetermined target global position (TP), and thusthe control module 16 will calculate a course over ground (COG) that thevessel 10 must travel to reach the target global position TP.Additionally, a predetermined target heading (TH) is, for example, 27degrees from north, while the actual, measured heading (AH) read from acompass or an inertial measurement unit (IMU) is, for example, 35.8degrees from north. Using a station keeping algorithm, the controlmodule 16 will therefore determine that a counterclockwise yaw movement(arrow CCW) of, in this example, 8.8 degrees is required to return thevessel 10 to the target heading TH. The control module 16 may alsocalculate target velocities at which the marine vessel 10 is to rotateand translate to achieve the target heading and position, which ensuresthat the vessel 10 moves at a predictable, proportional rate back to thetargets.

The control module 16 determines when and how much corrective action totake according to a three-dimensional (left/right, fore/aft, and yaw)proportional, integral, and derivative (PID) control algorithm performedby a feedback controller 17 of the control module 16. The integral termallows the control system to reject constant and slowly varyingdisturbances (e.g., current) while maintaining near-zero position error.The proportional and derivative terms handle any quickly varyingdisturbances, such as gusting winds or waves. The integral term is alsoconsidered to have memory and can take time to increase or decrease,especially if the disturbance forces grow. The PID feedback controller17 computes a desired force in the forward/back and left/rightdirections with reference to the marine vessel 10, along with a desiredyaw moment relative to the marine vessel 10, in order to null the errorelements. The computed force and moment elements are then transmitted tothe vessel maneuvering system, which delivers the requested forces andmoments by positioning the independently steerable propulsion devices12, 14, controlling the power provided to the propellers, impellers, orpropulsors of each device, and controlling the thrust vector directionsof both propulsion devices 12, 14. One or both of the propulsion devices12, 14 and their respective power transmission mechanisms 13, 15 can becontrolled to null the error elements. The propulsion devices 12, 14 andtheir respective power transmission mechanisms 13, 15 can also becontrolled independently of one another, such that their magnitudes,directions, and/or angles of thrust are different from one another. Suchautomatic correction of the position and heading of the marine vessel 10can be achieved according to the principles described in U.S. Pat. No.7,305,928, which was incorporated by reference herein above.

With reference to FIG. 6, a marine vessel's attitude can be described byits roll around an x-axis, its pitch around a y-axis, and its yaw arounda z-axis. Pitch and roll can be calculated by an angular difference froma horizontal plane defined by the x- and y-axes. A positive roll isaround the x-axis in the direction of the arrow 60 shown in FIG. 6. Anegative roll is in the opposite direction. A positive pitch is aroundthe y-axis in the direction of the arrow 62 shown in FIG. 6. A negativepitch is in the opposite direction. Heading can be measured from 0degrees to 360 degrees clockwise, as shown by arrow 64.

Generally, station keeping algorithms are calibrated for a specific setof conditions and do not provide optimal performance under other typesof conditions. For example, a control module 16 carrying out a stationkeeping algorithm may have very little knowledge of the state of thebody of water in which the vessel 10 is operating, wherein waves maycause the vessel 10 to pitch back and forth and/or roll side to side.Pitching and rolling cause the vessel 10 to move in ways that aredetected by the GPS receiver in the AHRS 19. These intermittentdisturbances cause the control module 16 to react to try to compensatefor the pitching and rolling movement. In order to provide suchcompensation, the control module 16 repeatedly turns the propulsiondevices' prime mover(s) on or off, shifts the propulsion devices'transmissions to different positions, or otherwise engages or disengagesthe shafts holding the propellers, impellers, or propulsors from theprime mover(s). All of these changes involve movement of and/or contactbetween mechanical components, which cause parts to wear and producenoise. Meanwhile, because water roughness conditions tending to causerepeated pitch and roll merely push the vessel 10 away from the targetposition TP and/or target heading TH and then back toward it, most ofthis compensatory control results in little improvement to the positionand heading control. In the present example, the life of the powertransmission mechanisms 13, 15 of the propulsion devices 12, 14 can beincreased and noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) transmitted to thevessel 10 can be optimized by reducing the effects that recurring errorscaused by rough water conditions have on the frequency of the propulsionsystem's corrective control actions.

FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate test data taken from a vessel when the method ofthe present disclosure is not used. In FIG. 7A, roll is induced between100 and 150 seconds by physically rocking the vessel. As shown in thebottom plot of FIG. 7B, the detected “actual” velocity from the GPSreceiver is showing that the vessel is physically moving left to rightand right to left over and over. However, the center of gravity of thevessel is not really moving; rather, because the GPS receiver istypically on a lever arm (e.g., on a pole, on top of a cabin) at adistance away from the center of gravity of the vessel, the GPS receivermoves from side-to-side like a pendulum as the vessel 10 rolls. Thisshows up as left-right movement (e.g., actual velocity, FIG. 7B), eventhough the vessel is really only rocking side-to-side. The result ofthis roll is that the station keeping algorithm calculates a targetvelocity as shown in the top plot of FIG. 7B, and then calculates aleft/right compensatory “virtual joystick demand” to null the errorbetween the target and actual velocities, as shown in the plot of FIG.7C. This demand, or request for compensatory thrust, is very busybecause the detected left-right movement requires that the propulsiondevices' engine speeds change and their transmissions shift again andagain to compensate for the repeated left-right “error” as reported bythe GPS receiver.

To reduce such busyness, the system 100 and method 900 of the presentdisclosure monitor measurements related to the attitude of the marinevessel 10 in a body of water. In the present example, the attitudemeasurements are vessel pitch measurements and vessel roll measurements,which are obtained by the AHRS 19. The control module 16 uses thisinformation to estimate roughness conditions on the body of water. Theroughness conditions are then used as inputs to gain tables and positionholding deadband and hysteresis tables that are used by the feedbackcontroller 17. The control module 16 thereby automatically modifies thefeedback control given the roughness conditions and provides better,less busy control under many different operating conditions.

FIGS. 2A and 2B schematically illustrate the station keeping algorithmsperformed by the control module 16. Referring to FIG. 2A, the AHRS 19provides vessel pitch measurements at 256 and vessel roll measurementsat 258 to the control module 16. The AHRS 19 also determines the actualposition 262, actual heading 264, actual speed over ground (linearvelocity) 260, and actual yaw rate (rotational velocity) 266 of thevessel 10. Using this information from the AHRS 19, the control module16 determines position and heading error with respect to a predeterminedtarget position and heading from the storage system 16 a along threeaxes: fore-aft, left-right, and yaw. For example, the control module 16determines at least one of a difference between a measured (actual)global position 262 and a preselected (target) global position 268 and adifference between a measured (actual) heading 264 and a preselected(target) heading 270, such as each of a left-right position error 74,fore-aft position error 276, and heading error 280. Next, the controlmodule 16 calculates at least one of a desired linear velocity (forexample, left-right desired velocity 284 and fore-aft desired velocity286) based on the position difference(s) 274, 276, and a desiredrotational velocity 288 based on the heading difference 280. The controlmodule 16 may multiply the left-right position error 274, fore-aftposition error 276, and heading error 280 by respective calibratedconstants and send the results through a limiter (see 272, 278, 282) tocalculate each respective desired velocity: left/right desired velocity284, fore/aft desired velocity 286, and desired rotational velocity 288.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the pitch measurements 256 are sent to a pitchroughness condition estimator 220 and the roll measurements 258 are sentto a roll roughness condition estimator 222. Based on the pitchmeasurements 256 and the roll measurements 258, the control module 16filters at least one of the actual linear velocity (SOG 260) of themarine vessel 10 and the actual rotational velocity (yaw rate 266) ofthe marine vessel 10. More specifically, the left-right position error274 and the left-right velocity (from SOG 260) are sent to a left-rightposition and velocity filter 224, which uses the left-right positionerror 274, the left-right velocity, and the roll roughness conditionestimate from the roll roughness condition estimator 222 to determineleft-right position error and left-right velocity that are compensatedfor recurring roll. The fore-aft position error 276 and the fore-aftvelocity (from SOG 260) are sent to a fore-aft position and velocityfilter 226, which uses the fore-aft position error 276, the fore-aftvelocity, and the pitch roughness condition estimate from the pitchroughness condition estimator 220 to determine fore-aft position errorand fore-aft velocity that are compensated for recurring pitch. Theheading error 280 and yaw rate 266 are sent to a heading and headingvelocity filter 228, which uses the heading error 280, yaw rate 266, andthe roll roughness condition estimate from the roll roughness conditionestimator 222 to determine heading error and yaw rate that arecompensated for recurring roll.

The position and velocity filters 224, 226 and the heading and headingvelocity filter 228 filter out the noise created by the recurring errorthat is measured as the vessel 10 pitches back and forth or rollsside-to-side. Applying a filter to the fore-aft position error 276 andfore-aft velocity (from SOG 260), left-right position error 274 andleft-right velocity (from SOG 260), and heading error 280 and yaw rate266 filters out noise in the signal from the AHRS 19 and allows changesin left-right, fore-aft, and heading errors to be caught as they occur.Each filter 224, 226, 228 may be a type of moving average filter, whichaverages the current fore-aft, left-right, or heading error and apredetermined number of past fore-aft, left-right, or heading errors. Inone example, each filter 224, 226, 228 is a first order exponentialfilter. The first order exponential filters may operate according to theequation: y(k)=a*y(k−1)+(1−a)*x(k), where x(k) is the raw input at timestep k; y(k) is the filtered output at time step k; and “a” is aconstant between 0 and 1. In one example, a=exp (−T/τ), where τ is thefilter time constant, and T is a fixed time step between samples. Thevalue of “a” for the fore-aft, left-right, or heading error filter canbe determined based on the value of the raw fore-aft, left-right, orheading error, respectively. In other examples, the filters 224, 226,228 could be median filters, mode filters, or Hampel filters.

The roll roughness condition estimate from estimator 222 may be providedto the heading and heading velocity filter 228, as shown in the exampleof FIG. 2B, in the case that heading of a particular vessel is moreaffected by recurring roll than by recurring pitch. Alternatively, thepitch roughness condition estimate from estimator 220 may be used as aninput to the heading and heading velocity filter 228, depending on thetype of vessel. In another example, the higher of the pitch roughnesscondition estimate or the roll roughness condition estimate is used asthe input to the heading and heading velocity filter 228.

The pitch roughness condition estimate from estimator 220 is used as aninput to an input-output map, such as a lookup table 230, to look upfore-aft PID gains as a function of fore-aft error (here, filteredfore-aft position error) and the pitch roughness condition estimate. Thepitch roughness condition estimate is also used as an input to aninput-output map, such as a lookup table 232, to look up fore-aftdeadband and hysteresis values as a function of the pitch roughnesscondition estimate. The roll roughness condition estimate from estimator222 is used as an input to an input-output map, such as a lookup table234, to look up left-right PID gains as a function of left-right error(here, filtered left-right position error) and the roll roughnesscondition estimate. The roll roughness condition estimate is also usedas an input to an input-output map, such as a lookup table 236, to lookup left-right deadband and hysteresis values as a function of the rollroughness condition estimate. The roll roughness condition estimate isalso used as an input to an input-output map, such as a lookup table238, to look up heading PID gains as a function of heading error (here,filtered heading error) and the roll roughness condition estimate. Theroll roughness condition estimate is also used as an input to aninput-output map, such as a lookup table 240, to look up headingdeadband and hysteresis values as a function of the roll roughnesscondition estimate.

The hysteresis values looked up in tables 232, 236, and 240 are used todetermine what errors will be nulled by the PID feedback controller 17.The control module 16 sets the position error (for example, left-righterror 274 and/or fore-aft error 276), and thus the desired linearvelocity (for example, left-right linear velocity 284 and/or fore-aftlinear velocity 286), to zero in response to the position differencebeing inside a predefined position difference hysteresis band.Similarly, the control module 16 sets the heading error 280, and thusthe desired rotational velocity 288, to zero in response to the headingdifference being inside a predefined heading difference hysteresis band.Each set of hysteresis values is unique, and a particular axis(fore-aft, left-right, or yaw) can be independently zeroed from theother axes. Any non-zeroed errors (i.e., errors that are outside theirrespective hysteresis bands) are then nulled by the PID controllers 242,246, 250. The hysteresis value lookup tables 232, 236, and 240 can beimplemented in different ways. In one example, hysteresis value lookuptable 232 includes separate lookup tables for each of a fore-aft errorminimum value and a fore-aft error maximum value, between which thefore-aft error will be zeroed. Hysteresis value lookup table 236 maycontain separate tables for each of a left-right error minimum value anda left-right error maximum value between which the left-right error willbe zeroed. Similarly, hysteresis value lookup table 240 may containseparate tables for each of a heading error minimum value and a headingerror maximum value between which the heading error will be zeroed. Inanother example, a single table could return both minimum and maximumvalues for the respective fore-aft, left-right, or heading errorhysteresis values.

Referring back to FIG. 2A, the control module 16 then determines atleast one of a difference 290, 292 between the desired linear velocity284, 286 and the filtered actual linear velocity (from filters 224, 226;see also FIG. 2B) and a difference 294 between the desired rotationalvelocity 288 and the filtered actual rotational velocity (from filter228; see also FIG. 2B) and calculates marine vessel movements that willminimize the at least one of the linear velocity difference (left-rightvelocity error 290 and/or fore-aft velocity error 292) and therotational velocity difference 294. In the example of the presentdisclosure, the control module 16 calculates the marine vessel movementsthat will minimize the at least one of the linear velocity difference290, 292 and the rotational velocity difference 294 using aproportional, integral, derivative (PID) control algorithm.

More specifically, referring to FIG. 2B, the filtered fore-aft positionerror and fore-aft velocity, the fore-aft PID gains, and the fore-aftdeadband and hysteresis values are sent to a fore-aft PID controller242, the output of which may be limited by a limiter 244 based onfore-aft error and heading error. The filtered left-right position errorand left-right velocity, the left-right PID gains, and the left-rightdeadband and hysteresis values are sent to a left-right PID controller246, the output of which may be limited by a limiter 248 based onleft-right error and heading error. The filtered heading error and yawrate, the heading PID gains, and the heading deadband and hysteresisvalues are sent to a heading (yaw) PID controller 250, the output ofwhich may be limited by a limiter 252 based on heading error anddistance error (i.e., distance to the target position). Note thatalthough three separate PID controllers 242, 246, and 250 are shown inFIG. 2B, the algorithm could instead be performed by a single PIDcontroller that nulls each of the fore-aft, left-right, and yaw errorsat once. Similarly, the limits imposed by the limiters 244, 248, and 252could be imposed by a single set of PID limits.

In the present example, a fore-aft demand from the limiter 244, aleft-right demand from the limiter 248, and a yaw demand from thelimiter 252 are then sent to a module 254 that uses these demands as avirtual joystick request to calculate shift positions, throttlepositions, and steering angles for the propulsion devices 12, 14 andsend commands to the propulsion devices 12, 14 in view of same. In thismanner, the control module 16 causes the marine propulsion system 11 tooperate to carry out the calculated marine vessel movements. In oneexample, the control module 16 causes the marine propulsion system 11 tooperate to carry out the calculated marine vessel movements in responseto the calculated marine vessel movements being outside of apredetermined deadband. For example, the movement required of the marinevessel 10 in the fore-aft direction may be required to be outside afore-aft demand deadband, for example determined from lookup table 232,before the control module 16 will command the propulsion system 11 tocarry out that movement. A similar left-right demand deadband may bedetermined from the lookup table 236, and a heading demand deadbanddetermined from lookup table 240. In one example, the deadbands for theleft-right and heading corrections are greater than those for thefore/aft corrections, as generally a vessel that is not as wide as it islong will tend to roll more easily than it will pitch.

Ordinating the above-mentioned control tables 230, 232, 234, 236, 238,240 off of the roughness condition metrics (the pitch roughnesscondition estimate and the roll roughness condition estimate) allows onecalibration to handle both calm water conditions and rough waterconditions. For example, the deadbands in tables 232, 236, and 240 mightbe greater (wider) when conditions on the body of water are determinedto be rougher, thereby allowing the vessel 10 to be pushed around moreback-and-forth or side-to-side, while on average staying in the samespot. Additionally, it may be desirable to have PID gains in tables 230,234, and 238 be low when conditions on the body of water are calm, buthigher when conditions on the body of water are rough, when moreauthority is required to counteract the high external forces acting onthe vessel 10.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show one example of algorithms the pitch roughnesscondition estimator 220 and the roll roughness condition estimator 222might use, which effectively calculate standard deviations of themeasured pitch and roll. As shown in FIG. 3, the roll measured by theAHRS 19 is sent to the roll roughness condition estimator 222, whichuses an adjustable length circular buffer 356, the length of which canbe set by a buffer length input 358. In one example, the buffer lengthis N data points long, where a data point is taken every predeterminedtime unit. Next, the mean of the data in the buffer 356 is determined bya mean calculator 360. The data in the buffer 356 and the buffer meanare then used by a variance calculator 362 to calculate the variance ofthe data in the circular buffer 356. The variance is output as the rollroughness condition estimate to the left-right position and velocityerror filter 224, the heading and heading velocity error filter 228, thePID gains look up tables 234, 238, and the deadband lookup tables 236,240 (FIG. 2B).

Turning to FIG. 4, the pitch measured by the AHRS 19 is sent to thepitch roughness condition estimator 220, which uses an adjustable lengthcircular buffer 464, the length of which can be set by a buffer lengthinput 466. In one example, the buffer length is N data points long,where a data point is taken every predetermined time unit. Next, themean of the data in the buffer 464 is determined by a mean calculator468. The data in the buffer 464 and the buffer mean are then used by avariance calculator 470 to calculate the variance of the data in thecircular buffer 464. The variance is output as the pitch roughnesscondition estimate to the fore-aft position and velocity error filter226, the PID gains look up table 230, and the fore-aft deadband lookuptable 232 (FIG. 2B).

In the examples of FIGS. 3 and 4, the control module 16 estimates theroughness conditions by calculating a variance of the pitch measurementsand a variance of the roll measurements. In another example, both thevariance calculator 362 and the variance calculator 470 output thestandard deviations of the respective buffers 356, 464 as the roughnesscondition estimates, rather than the variances. Note that in someapplications it may be desirable to use the variances instead of thestandard deviations, which former option is less computationallyintensive because it does not require taking a square root.

The value of “N” for the buffer length affects the system's sensitivityto error. Lower values of “N” will make the system 100 more sensitive,but also more noisy, because the roughness calculation will be lessaccurate, as there is less data for calculating the mean and thevariance. Higher values of “N” will make the system less sensitive, butmore accurate, because there will be more data available for calculatingthe mean and the variance. The buffer lengths may be set duringcalibration and may or may not be modifiable by the operator via theinput source 18.

In the present example, the control module 16 stores the pitchmeasurements and the roll measurements in respective circular buffers356, 464 in the storage system 16 b of the control module 16. A circularbuffer is used at 356 and 464 to calculate the roughness conditionestimates/metrics so that the metrics are based on the roughnessconditions at the time the values of pitch and roll are measured. Thus,the roughness condition metrics are calculated continuously. Incontrast, the buffers could be non-circular. This alternative methoduses a calibrated length of recorded data to calculate the mean andstandard deviation, and requires that all of the pitch and roll data berecorded before calculating the roughness condition metrics. This maylead to discrete step responses in control behavior because the buffersdo not include up-to-date data points. The circular buffers 356, 464, incontrast, result in smooth control, with fewer discontinuities that arenoticeable to those present on the vessel 10. Nonetheless, anon-circular buffer may be preferred in some instances when a lowerthroughput is desired, as the calculations are executed less frequently.

Thus, the control module 16 calculates a variance of the pitchmeasurements 256 and a variance of the roll measurements 258 (i.e., theroughness conditions) and filters the at least one of the actual linearvelocity (SOG 260) and the actual rotational velocity (yaw rate 266)based on the variance of the pitch measurements and the variance of theroll measurements (i.e., the roughness conditions). As noted withrespect to filters 224, 226, and 228 of FIGS. 2A and 2B, the controlmodule 16 filters at least one of the position difference 274, 276 andthe heading difference 280 based on the variance of the pitchmeasurements and the variance of the roll measurements. The controlmodule 16 may then calculate the at least one of the desired linearvelocity 284, 286 based on the filtered position difference, and thedesired rotational velocity 288 based on the filtered headingdifference. As noted with respect to filter 226, the control module 16filters a fore/aft component of the position difference and a fore/aftcomponent of the linear velocity based on the variance of the pitchmeasurements. As noted with respect to filter 224, the control module 16filters a left/right component of the position difference and aleft/right component of the linear velocity based on the variance of theroll measurements. As noted with respect to filter 228, the controlmodule 16 filters the heading difference and the rotational velocitybased on the variance of the roll measurements.

Additionally, as described with respect to lookup tables 232, 236, and240, the control module 16 determines the position difference hysteresisband and the heading difference hysteresis band based on the variance ofthe pitch measurements and the variance of the roll measurements (i.e.,roughness conditions). As described with respect to lookup tables 230,234, and 238, the control module 16 also determines at least one of aproportional gain, a derivative gain, and an integral gain for use inthe PID control algorithm(s) based on the variance of the pitchmeasurements and the variance of the roll measurements (i.e., theroughness conditions).

FIGS. 8A-8C illustrate test data taken from a vessel 10 when the methodof the present disclosure is implemented. In FIG. 8A, roll is inducedbetween 60 and 100 seconds by rocking the vessel 10. The dots on theupper portion of the plot are the calculated roll roughness values. Thisis a rolling average calculation, as described herein above with respectto the adjustable length buffer 356 and variance calculator 362 of FIG.3. FIG. 8B shows how the left/right target velocity (upper plot) is zeroand the difference between the filtered actual velocity (lower plot) andthe target velocity that the feedback controller 17 sees is relativelyconstant and has little noise due to implementation of the presentalgorithm (compare FIG. 7B). Because the actual velocity measurement isthe control step between position error calculation and demandcalculation, the demand then also will not oscillate. Thus, it can beseen from FIG. 8C that the left/right virtual joystick demand does notoscillate as it did in FIG. 7C, due to the present gain scheduling anddeadband adjustments based on the calculated roughness metric (here, theroll roughness condition estimate).

Although comparison of FIGS. 7A-7C with FIGS. 8A-8C shows an example ofhow recurring roll can be filtered out of the station keeping algorithm,note that the same results would occur if the vessel were pitching backand forth. In other words, not only will the present algorithm result ina left/right demand that does not oscillate with recurring roll, it willalso result in a fore/aft demand that does not oscillate with recurringpitch. Additionally, the roughness condition metrics will filter out anyrecurring rotational error that is measured, such that yaw demand willnot oscillate either.

A method 900 for maintaining a marine vessel 10 at at least one of atarget global position TP and a target heading TH in a body of wateraccording to one example of the present disclosure is shown in FIG. 9.The method is carried out by a control module 16. As shown at box 902,the method includes receiving measurements related to an attitude of themarine vessel 10. As shown at box 904, the method next includesestimating roughness conditions of the body of water based on theattitude measurements. As shown at box 906, the method includesdetermining at least one of a difference between an actual globalposition AP of the marine vessel 10 and the target global position TPand a difference between an actual heading AH of the marine vessel 10and the target heading TH. As shown at box 908, the method then includescalculating at least one of a desired linear velocity based on theposition difference and a desired rotational velocity (i.e., yaw rate)based on the heading difference. As shown at box 910, based on theroughness conditions, the method includes filtering at least one of anactual linear velocity of the marine vessel 10 and an actual rotationalvelocity of the marine vessel 10. As shown at box 912, the methodincludes determining at least one of a difference between the desiredlinear velocity and the filtered actual linear velocity and a differencebetween the desired rotational velocity and the filtered actualrotational velocity. As shown at box 914, the method also includescalculating marine vessel movements that will minimize the at least oneof the linear velocity difference and the rotational velocitydifference. Next, as shown at box 916, the method includes operating apropulsion system 11 of the marine vessel 10 to carry out the calculatedmarine vessel movements.

As described herein above, the present inventors realized that slowingthe station keeping system down and adding deadbands when in a disturbedenvironment could reduce “virtual joystick demand” busyness. Byfiltering out the GPS position and velocity feedback as a function ofmeasured roughness conditions on a body of water, recurring roll orpitch disturbances can be prevented from being fed into the feedbackcontroller 17. Because the GPS filtering is done using gain schedulingas a function of the measured roughness condition, vessel movements incalm conditions are not falsely damped out. The system and method of thepresent disclosure provide the ability for the control module 16 tomonitor external roughness conditions accurately and to adjust itscalibration to improve control system performance. The roughnessconditions prediction algorithm can be running in the background evenbefore the station keeping mode is requested, which pre-fills thebuffers 356, 464 with data points. The present roughness conditionmetrics could also be used to filter out pitch, roll, and/or yaw noisewhen the vessel 10 is porpoising, when the vessel 10 is in anauto-heading mode or a waypoint tracking mode, or in a trim controlmode. A roughness condition metric based on heading may also bedetermined, in other examples, and used to tune out wander while inauto-heading or waypoint tracking mode.

In the above description, certain terms have been used for brevity,clarity, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to beinferred therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because suchterms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadlyconstrued. The order of method steps or decisions shown in the Figuresand described herein are not limiting on the appended claims unlesslogic would dictate otherwise. It should be understood that thedecisions and steps can be undertaken in any logical order and/orsimultaneously. The different systems and methods described herein maybe used alone or in combination with other systems and methods. It is tobe expected that various equivalents, alternatives and modifications arepossible within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for maintaining a marine vessel at atarget global position in a body of water, the method being carried outby a control module and comprising: receiving measurements related to anattitude of the marine vessel; estimating roughness conditions of thebody of water based on the attitude measurements; determining adifference between an actual global position of the marine vessel andthe target global position; calculating a desired linear velocity basedon the position difference; based on the roughness conditions, filteringan actual linear velocity of the marine vessel; determining a differencebetween the desired linear velocity and the filtered actual linearvelocity; calculating marine vessel movements that will minimize thelinear velocity difference; and operating a propulsion system of themarine vessel to carry out the calculated marine vessel movements tominimize the linear velocity difference.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the attitude measurements are vessel pitch measurements andvessel roll measurements.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprisingestimating the roughness conditions by calculating a variance of thepitch measurements and a variance of the roll measurements.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, further comprising storing the pitch measurements andthe roll measurements in respective circular buffers in a storage systemof the control module.
 5. The method of claim 3, further comprisingfiltering the position difference based on the roughness conditions; andcalculating the desired linear velocity based on the filtered positiondifference.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising filtering afore/aft component of the position difference and a fore/aft componentof the actual linear velocity based on the variance of the pitchmeasurements; and filtering a left/right component of the positiondifference and a left/right component of the actual linear velocitybased on the variance of the roll measurements.
 7. The method of claim1, further comprising setting the desired linear velocity to zero inresponse to the position difference being inside a predefined positiondifference hysteresis band.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprisingdetermining the position difference hysteresis band based on theroughness conditions.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprisingcalculating the marine vessel movements that will minimize the linearvelocity difference using a proportional, integral, derivative (PID)control algorithm; and determining at least one of a proportional gain,a derivative gain, and an integral gain for use in the PID controlalgorithm based on the roughness conditions.
 10. The method of claim 1,further comprising: determining a difference between an actual headingof the marine vessel and a target heading at which the marine vessel isto be maintained; calculating a desired rotational velocity based on theheading difference; based on the roughness conditions, filtering anactual rotational velocity of the marine vessel; determining adifference between the desired rotational velocity and the filteredactual rotational velocity; calculating marine vessel movements thatwill minimize both the linear velocity difference and the rotationalvelocity difference; and operating the propulsion system to carry outthe calculated marine vessel movements to minimize both the linearvelocity difference and the rotational velocity difference.
 11. A methodfor maintaining a marine vessel at a target heading in a body of water,the method being carried out by a control module and comprising:receiving measurements related to an attitude of the marine vessel;estimating roughness conditions of the body of water based on theattitude measurements; determining a difference between an actualheading of the marine vessel and the target heading; calculating adesired rotational velocity based on the heading difference; based onthe roughness conditions, filtering an actual rotational velocity of themarine vessel; determining a difference between the desired rotationalvelocity and the filtered actual rotational velocity; calculating marinevessel movements that will minimize the rotational velocity difference;and operating a propulsion system of the marine vessel to carry out thecalculated marine vessel movements to minimize the rotational velocitydifference.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the attitudemeasurements are vessel pitch measurements or vessel roll measurements.13. The method of claim 12, further comprising estimating the roughnessconditions by calculating a variance of the pitch measurements or theroll measurements.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprisingstoring the pitch measurements or the roll measurements in a circularbuffer in a storage system of the control module.
 15. The method ofclaim 13, further comprising filtering the heading difference based onthe roughness conditions; and calculating the desired rotationalvelocity based on the filtered heading difference.
 16. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the attitude measurements are vessel rollmeasurements, and further comprising: estimating the roughnessconditions by calculating a variance of the roll measurements; filteringthe heading difference and the actual rotational velocity based on thevariance of the roll measurements; and calculating the desiredrotational velocity based on the filtered heading difference.
 17. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising setting the desired rotationalvelocity to zero in response to the heading difference being inside apredefined heading difference hysteresis band.
 18. The method of claim17, further comprising determining the heading difference hysteresisband based on the roughness conditions.
 19. The method of claim 11,further comprising calculating the marine vessel movements that willminimize the rotational velocity difference using a proportional,integral, derivative (PID) control algorithm; and determining at leastone of a proportional gain, a derivative gain, and an integral gain foruse in the PID control algorithm based on the roughness conditions. 20.The method of claim 11, further comprising: determining a differencebetween an actual global position of the marine vessel and a targetglobal position at which the marine vessel is to be maintained;calculating a desired linear velocity based on the position difference;based on the roughness conditions, filtering an actual linear velocityof the marine vessel; determining a difference between the desiredlinear velocity and the filtered actual linear velocity; calculatingmarine vessel movements that will minimize both the rotational velocitydifference and the linear velocity difference; and operating thepropulsion system to carry out the calculated marine vessel movements tominimize both the rotational velocity difference and the linear velocitydifference.